Petrol to Diesel / swap

bigbassguitar · Post by **bigbassguitar** » 21 Nov 2004, 18:58

Can any one advise problems I may encounter replacing a knackered 16 valve petrol in my xantia with a Turbo diesel unit.[8D]

AndersDK · Post by **AndersDK** » 21 Nov 2004, 19:08

It's possible to do it.
But I'm pretty sure you dont have the guts/strenght to go all the way.
There are numerous changes involved, just to name a few :
1) possible tank & fuel lines replacement
2) coolant hoses replacement (different run)
3) radiator must be largest area for diesel
4) hydraulic pipe lines issues
5) all the electrics cabling
6) gearbox ratios
7) any tax issues
Cheapest option by far is to find a replacement engine same type. Then trade in the car if you want a diesel.
Or scrap this car and find a diesel - moving over the better parts.

bigbassguitar · Post by **bigbassguitar** » 21 Nov 2004, 19:16

Hi Anders. thanks for that my main concern is "would the existing drive shafts fit a td unit " I already have td intercooler, rad, fuel tank, lines already from yet another td i purchased for spares but without engine and box. This one is R redg the petrol one is N regd

AndersDK · Post by **AndersDK** » 21 Nov 2004, 19:22

hmmm...
Beyond my hands on experience, but try the online catalogue to see if different part no's on pet/td driveaxles.

bigbassguitar · Post by **bigbassguitar** » 21 Nov 2004, 19:25

Hi Anders,
Many thanks for your advise

kafkaian · Post by **kafkaian** » 21 Nov 2004, 21:06

I thought about this once but agree with Anders. Not a good idea unless you're up for a challenge - especially considering the costs involved when it's cheaper (and less mentally destabiilizing)to sell said petrol and but said diesel.

davethewheel · Post by **davethewheel** » 21 Nov 2004, 21:42

you are a brave man if you attempt a petrol to diesel conversion, i would agree with anders better to fix the car and sell it then buy a diesel.

beezer · Post by **beezer** » 21 Nov 2004, 21:51

Some people like a challenge! I am helping a friend do the same to a Landy but there are lots of issues. Anders has mentioned some. are the suspension components different to take a heavier engine? Exhaust? Probably involve changing instrument panel to accommodate pre-heater system lights/water in filter etc. Insurance company will need engineer's report. Any more to add?

vanny · Post by **vanny** » 21 Nov 2004, 22:31

you gang of wimps!
Its not really that hard at all.
The tank can stay the same, as can most of the fuel lines (only problem will be lengths of hoses once in the engine bay, best solution is NOT to by the 'proper' pipes from Citroen but go to a motor factors and buy a big length of suitable diameter).
The exhaust is different, but only really as far as the first section is concerned (from exhaust manifold), after that the boxes are supposed to be pretty much identical for the TD and 16v (certainly are for the BX).
Electrics are a piece of case. You can either botch it together or spend a day and create a whole loom for the engine that will adapt to the loom in the enginebay. Things like digital speedo sensor remain the same. Only tricky bit will be the tacho as i suspect that as like the BX, the Xantia 16v will tach a tacho reading from the ECU. You'll obviously need a diesel tacho for the console.
Coolant hoses are only a price dependant issue. If your gonna keep the car then spend the time and get the correct Cit pipes, you may need to move things into the correct places. If you have the money then totally rebuild the piping with Samco hoses or similar. Its costly and time consuming but then you can adapt to how you want it.
If its a 1.9 16v and a swap to 1.9TD then there are no Road Tax issues (infact if the diesel is greater capacity than the petrol theres not a problem with tax other than paying more!). As for insurance it will likely go through the roof and this is a MAJOR issue, will probbaly make it totally pointless to bother in the first place.
Its best to have an entire donor, rather than just the engine! You'll deffinatley find something that you didnt think to get off the donor otherwise.
Its NOT a difficult thing to under take but will take time and effort and probably a fair bit of money. Given the second hand price of a decent Xantia TD its probably not worth the money if your looking to save from doing the conversion.
The Driveshafts may cause problems. For the TD they are super uprated, and absolutely massive! Probably around 2" diameter, so you should be able to see what the 16v ones are like on your own car. They DO need to be the beefed up shafts as well, they do bend under the torque of the TD and i've seen a warped one, not very nice!
engine isnt heavier by a hell of a lot, and probably nothing to worry about, the suspension components can remain the same. A diesel instrument cluster WILL be of an advantage, but you can always wire the 'K' light up as the glow plug light!
Insurance company wont needs be require and engineers report, they certainly didnt on mine and i specificaly asked if they did! In fact the DVLA werent bothered either.
Still i'll go with the trend and say its a much better idea just to by another TD and get rid of the 16v

beezer · Post by **beezer** » 21 Nov 2004, 22:42

DVLA will have to be notified that's all. I don't think they will be bothered other than that. Insurance I am sure depends on the company but my friend had to get a report for his.

kafkaian · Post by **kafkaian** » 21 Nov 2004, 23:47

For me it would be more about costs - unless of course bigbassguitar really wants to do a conversion for conversion sake.
And the wimp accusation?[:0][:0]
[:D][:D][:D]
We need a

smilie on here

oilyspanner · Post by **oilyspanner** » 22 Nov 2004, 00:38

If you have all the ingredients why not go for it, provided the car is worth the effort.
Stewart

vanny · Post by **vanny** » 22 Nov 2004, 00:46

Wimp cos a 16v to 1.9TD conversion is easy and fun, come see my car and then you'll be able to appreciate the true amazingness, then i'll show you the list of things replaced/fixed and the costs and let you laugh at me!
But i do have a lovely car and engine now

Post by **Jon** » 22 Nov 2004, 00:54

FRom what I recall Xantia 2.0/2.0 16V and the 1.9TD use the same driveshafts. All the engine mounts are in the same place. They also share the same clutch cables. The front spheres and all front suspension are also shared with the 1.9TD and 2.0 16v models.

madasafish · Post by **madasafish** » 22 Nov 2004, 02:07

why bother? As second hand Xantias - even diesel can be bought for under £1,000 - all you are doing is spending a lot of time and money on a totally pointless exercise imo...